Ragging: Rights Panel Seeks ATR From Odisha Govt

Bhubaneswar: Expressing grave concern over reported ragging incidents in educational institutions, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Wednesday sought an action taken report (ATR) from the state government.

The Commission, in a notice, asked the secretaries of Health and Technical Education Departments to submit a detailed report on what action they have taken to curb such incidents. It also sought clarification as to why criminal cases should not be registered against the guilty.

The secretaries have been asked to submit the report within 10 days from the date of the receiving notice.

Notably, junior students of Vir Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, were reportedly physically tortured by seniors during the welcome ceremony inside the hostel premises in the last week of August this year.

This was followed by a brutal assault on a Plus II first-year student of Vikash International School in Sambalpur by four students and the physical assault on a Plus III first-year student inside the hostel of the Ravenshaw University in Cuttack.